Last week, we covered an unusual story of a husband driving a car and catching his newborn baby girl with one hand as his wife gave birth in the passenger seat. Now, there’s another story of a baby born in a car. This time, it was in a Tesla Model 3, with a helpful assist from the Tesla Autopilot feature. 

A slow drive to the hospital in rush hour traffic in a Model 3 as a baby wants to enter the world

Last September, Yiran Sherry did her laundry at her Pennsylvania home as she prepared to take Rafa, her 3-year-old son, to school, as reported by the Washington Post. Then, her water broke, and her baby daughter decided it was time to enter the world. Despite her water breaking, Yiran insisted that Keating, her husband, drop their son off at preschool in their Tesla Model 3 before addressing her needs.

However, her contractions rapidly increased, going from an hour apart to speeding up pangs. Because of this, Yiran and her husband decided to drive straight to the Paoli Hospital, along with their young toddler. Unfortunately, due to rush hour traffic, the drive to the hospital was very slow. A typical 20-minute drive took considerably longer. 

As Yiran crouched in pain in the passenger seat of the Model 3, she deliberated what to do. Reflecting on the moment, she said, “I was initially trying to hold it, but halfway through, I was thinking: ‘Should I push?’ From TV or movies, I thought maybe I should push. I should’ve realized she would come.”

Autopilot in Tesla Model 3 provides a delivery assist for a newborn baby girl

Her husband then activated the Autopilot feature in the Tesla Model 3. The Autopilot feature is controversial for the unsafe way that some drivers use it. Examples include sleeping with Autopilot activated and playing games. Also, without going into graphic detail, as Elon Musk wrote in a tweet, “Turns out there’s more ways to use Autopilot than we imagined.”

However, when used properly, Autopilot is a very useful feature for helping lessen the burden of the driver. In the case of Yiran and Keating, they utilized Autopilot in a beneficial way. After activating Autopilot, Keating placed his left hand on the steering wheel and provided his right hand to Yiran to squeeze in pain. Young Rafa sat in the back seat and asked if his “mom was OK.”

As Keating continued to hold his wife’s hand with the Model 3 Autopilot feature activated, the couple focused on breathing. Before they reached the hospital, Yiran had already given birth to their newborn baby girl. While the Tesla Autopilot feature didn’t directly deliver the baby, it provided a helpful assist. 

The first Tesla baby: Name her Tess in honor of her birth in a Tesla Model 3?

When the expanded family of four reached the hospital, a pediatrician walked out of the building and called on other medical staffers for assistance. In the front seat of the Tesla Model 3, doctors cut the umbilical cord and then wheeled Yiran and her baby into the hospital. Everyone is healthy and safe, including the newborn baby girl. 

Yiran and Keating named their baby daughter Mauve. For a brief moment, Keating considered giving his daughter the middle name of Tess in honor of the car in which she was born. Yiran gave that idea a hard “no.” Instead, the couple gave their daughter the middle name of Lily, “which is a character in Yiran’s mother’s name.”

Mauve is the first Tesla baby. While Yiran and Keating didn’t name their daughter after their Tesla Model 3, they recognize the important role that its Autopilot feature played in the delivery of their baby girl. Because of this memorable experience, they are considering buying the Model 3 at the end of its lease.